Sept. 30

SexosegrationI read your carefully written article about the tracking of ex-sex offenders. You raised an interesting point that the GPS devices occasionally protect their wearers from false accusations used by people who want to railroad a former sex offender to cover their own tracks.

May I add that the restrictions that New Mexico laws and other state/federal laws place on former sex offenders with respect to residency, etc., smack of the old Jim Crow segregation laws or the antebellum slave laws that prohibited slaves from congregating with each other for fear they might plot slave uprisings as Nat Turner did in Virginia during 1831? These restriction laws also bear a suspicious resemblance to Stalin and Hitler’s restrictive laws. Both these dictators started their repressive laws on sex offenders then moved on up the line to target political dissidents, pacifists, gays (and sometimes lesbians), labor agitators, (in Stalin’s case) Krulac peasants and (in Hitler’s case) Jews. I fear that these sex offender laws could, in this volatile political climate, pave the path, God forbid, for totalitarian dictatorship in this country. Also, not all sex offenders are male as your article may have accidentally led one to believe. Any law that reinforces false stereotypes does not protect the law-abiding public.

I might also add that enforcement of these laws could put police and other law enforcement personnel in harm’s way; some states have had incidents where sex offenders have assaulted police officers who attempt to arrest them for non-compliance. Enforcing these laws on former sex offenders also puts a strain on already financially and personnel-strapped law enforcement officers who must respond to real crimes like drive-by shootings, drunken driving, murder, house [break-ins], kidnapping, arson, extortion, selling drugs to low-income children, etc. These sex offender laws actually make it easier for other violent criminals (some of whom may be far worse than a lot of sex offenders on the registry) to get away with impunity. I am sorry that you did not deal with these issues in an otherwise well-thought-out article.William R Delzell
Albuquerque

Letter to the Guv
“I [was] so horrified when I read the eyewitness accountof Gilbert Roybal being found in the street and the police being so casual about acting quickly to get him medical assistance. I want to know if this incident is being actively investigated at this point. I would like to speak to someone about the actions taken by the police. Do we regard injured people as garbage to be removed?”

I sent [the statement above] to the governor via his email and I requested that I may speak to someone in the local government. Maybe I’ll speak to someone at the Department of Tourism.Barbara Selnick
Santa Fe

Poetry PitfallThe letter “Righteously Rich” and other feedback indicate thatmy poemabout Santa Fe millionaires was misunderstood. I did not state or mean to imply that none of these people contribute to charity and good causes; I know otherwise. I referred only to my own projects and causes.Jim Terr
Santa Fe

Positivo!This week De Vore showed some promise. I appreciate his Tour de Santa Fe Musicduring Fiestas weekend. Maybe now all of the Alex bashing can stop.Alexis Brown
Santa Fe

Blood Clot

It saddened me to read Vince Kadlubek’sresponseto Alex De Vore’s column on The Process. It seems that Mr. K has completely missed the point that it is venues such as The Process that make Santa Fe so culturally rich.

Instead, Mr. K attacks both the writer and myself through name-calling. Mr. K’s xenophobic mentality would seem to state that anyone who does not hail from a long line of Santa Fe natives has no right to participate in the cultural growth of this town. It also does not, in my opinion, take a large venue or group to sow the seeds of culture but, instead, a dedicated few with vision and devotion. Culture is not a contest.

Fortunately for The Process, as well as a variety of other hardworking venues around town (including High Mayhem, Meow Wolf, Santa Fe Complex, The Humble and Corazón), this attitude is not shared by the majority of Santa Feans who know that it is these venues that keep our town the rich and culturally diverse place we all know and love.Red CellFounder/Curator of The Process
Santa Fe

Youth Spokesman

As far as I can tell, Red Cell’s comment about cultures being exploited in our town didn’t point any fingers; he didn’t say that Hispanics and Native Americans, the creators and bearers of those cultures, did the exploiting. That’s Kablubek’s projection, really. Since when did acknowledging some hard facts about cultural imperialism in this town become an attack on all the hardworking people of Santa Fe?

Since when did this mean that a man who has worked with tireless generosity and creativity to bring cutting-edge performers to our city should have to answer to a flea like you, Vince? How does someone with a name like Kadlubek get to speak for the majority culture that has shaped Santa Fe?

Come to think of it, Mr. Kablubek, are you a sixth-generation Hispanic? What gives you the right to speak for them? According to your logic, no one without a sixth-generation pedigree has the right to criticize Santa Fe in any way. Wouldn’t that include you, Mr. Kadlubek? Should you be packing to go back to the Pacific Northwest?

Let’s face it, Vince, you’re not a spokesman for ANYONE.

It’s blatantly obvious that you don’t actually care about a serious issue like the politics of culture in Santa Fe; you just exploited that issue to attack some people you personally dislike—Alex De Vore and Red Cell—as well as to gain attention from the arts community you wish gave you the respect and gratitude that properly belong to Red Cell.

But get this, pawn, while you were exploiting Santa Fe’s indigenous cultures to mount a disgusting ad hominem attack on a man who has literally invited you and others into his home to share great art, the Santa Fe Reporter was using you to instigate real and intelligent debate about the relation of art and commerce in Santa Fe. So your ugly and sad resentments might have—despite your intent—some positive influence here in the City Different.Daniel Drell
Santa Fe

The Reporter welcomes original, signed letters to the editor. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to speci?c articles in the Reporter. They may be edited for clarity and space. Include address and phone number for verifcation purposes; these will not be published.